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Pyramids of Can. Rockies |
|
 Mount
Stephen
(3199 m)
Mount Stephen is the massive mountain
which looms almost 2000 metres above the town of
Field in Yoho National Park.
George Stephen (1829 - 1921) was a former president of the Bank of
Montreal when he was named the first president of
the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1881. His success
in raising the enormous sums of money needed to
complete the CPR, was widely regarded as one of
the greatest financing feats of its kind the world
has ever seen. In recognition of his achievements,
he was created a baronet in 1886, and raised to
the peerage as Baron Mount Stephen five years
later. In 1905, he became Knight Grand Cross of
the Royal Victorian Order. The mountain was named
in his honour in 1886. Mr. Stephen, in turn, was
named Baron Mount Stephen in 1891 so in this case
the mountain was named after the man and the man
was named after the mountain.
The first ascent of Mount Stephen in 1887 was probably one of the longest
and most difficult of the many first ascents made
by surveyor James
J. McArthur. Accompanied by his
assistant, T. Riley and burdened by heavy
surveying equipment, 1946 vertical metres were
ascended including, "crawling along dangerous
ledges and up steep narrow gorges." Later
they, "moved along to a slanting rift, up
which we clambered, sometimes dependent for a hold
on the first joints of our fingers." Finally,
"It required all our nerve to crawl about the
eighth of a mile on the top of those half-balanced
masses to the highest point on Mount
Stephen." Unfortunately, when they reached
the summit, smoke from forest fires obscured the
view and limited their photography.
In his book, "Pushing the Limits -The Story of Canadian
Mountaineering," Chic
Scott refers to J.J. McArthur as
"The first Canadian mountaineer," partly
on the basis of his efforts on Mount Stephen.
When McArthur and Riley climbed the mountain for a second time in 1892
they noted that the upper part had become easier
to climb due to a massive rockslide from the upper
ridge. [Graeme Pole]
The "Nose Tunnel" passes through the lower cliffs of Mount
Stephen above the point where the Yoho Valley
joins the Kicking Horse River near the
Trans-Canada Highway. This tunnel was part of the
original CPR construction and every train since
has passed through it.
During the construction of the railway, lead-zinc
ore was discovered in loose rock lying below Mount
Stephen. This led to the Kicking Horse Mine being
built on the opposite side of the valley in Mount
Field, just above the lowest portion of
the Yoho Valley Road and the Monarch Mine in the
lower cliffs of Mount Stephen on the opposite side
of the valley. Lead and zinc were mined from time
to time ending in 1952. Two or three of the
openings for the Monarch Mine can still be seen in
the northern cliffs, above the talus slopes on the
northern end of the mountain above the bridge at
the bottom of the Big Hill. A cable car that began
at the railway to the east was used to access the
operations on the cliffs.CLICK
ON THE PICTURE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AND SEE
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF MOUNT
STEPHEN
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Color
